Rethinking The Fish Behind The Glass with Dr. Culum Brown
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Fish Captivity
I’ve been thinking a lot about what captivity means when the animal in front of you is a fish — an animal most people assume has no real preferences, no boredom, no agency. Talking with Dr. Culum Brown made that assumption impossible to hold onto. Which is good for the 14 Koi and single Sturgeon I just inherited. This interview came at the perfect time for me.
The first captivity is the bag
Before a fish ever reaches a tank, it’s already lived through confinement, transport, and stress we rarely acknowledge. Captivity starts long before the glass walls.
The mismatch we don’t talk about (but we do in this episode)!
We keep fishes in environments that ignore the very abilities that define them — navigation, memory, exploration, problem‑solving. A bored fish isn’t “just swimming.” It’s an animal with no choices.
agency underwater
Culum’s work shows that fishes make decisions, seek stimulation, and will work for access to things they value. Once you see that, the question shifts from can we keep fish? to what does captivity owe them?
the bigger picture
The captivity of fishes in only one aspect of the captivity conversation we have had over the last 4 episodes. The next episode we will get a little higher up and explore the captivity of one of the most prolific animals in our industrial and back yard farming... chickens.
Show Notes
Episode 4 of Series 16: The Captivity Conversation Transcript
Guest Bios: Dr. Culum Brown is a behavioural ecologist and Professor at Macquarie University, known for his pioneering research on fish cognition, learning, and welfare. He has published extensively on how fishes navigate their environments, form memories, solve problems, and experience stress, and his work has helped reshape scientific and public understanding of intelligence underwater. Culum is the long‑time Editor of the Journal of Fish Biology and a leading voice in global discussions about fish sentience and the ethical implications of keeping fishes in captivity.
Book Recommendations: On the Origin of Species: Or; The Preservation of the Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life by Charles Darwin
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